Growing Need For The Spread Of Secular Reason
The detriment and burdens to which religion has subjected society and the progress of civilization have long since exceeded an acceptable level of secular tolerance. And, now we have Fundamental Islamic Terrorism that threatens western civilization and wants to turn the world into a Theocratic Autocracy.
Post Hoc Miracles
If a skyscraper collapses from an earthquake (or terrorist attack), killing thousands under millions of tons of concrete and steel, but a few people are rescued from isolated pockets within the rubble (through human effort, mind you), it's labeled "a miracle from Jesus" even though it's a statistical probability that a few people will be alive.
Invisible Bonds
What would we think of a society where a number of citizens decide to enslave their fellow-citizens, using the techniques of propaganda? Not only does their brain-washing result in manipulating their targets into a subservient role, but it succeeds in making them accept that role gladly, and even become enforcers of their own servitude.
TV Preacher Resumes Political Crusade
Pat Robertson pushes U.S. Congressional House Bill allowing churches to endorse political candidates
The Miracles
Quasi-poetical reaction to yet more callous fundamentalist "evidence" of God's supreme love on September 11.
Review of Warranted Christian Belief
Review of Warranted Christian Belief (2002) Tyler Wunder Review: Alvin Plantinga. 2000. Warranted Christian Belief. New York: Oxford University Press. xx+508 pp. [This review was originally published in Philo Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring-Summer 2002): pp. 103-118. This Secular Web version contains some minor changes by the author, but otherwise is faithful to the version […]
Richard Carrier Jesus Puzzle
Did Jesus Exist? Earl Doherty and the Argument to Ahistoricity (2002) What follows is a critical review of The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ? Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus, a work by Earl Doherty (Canadian Humanist Publications: Ottawa, Canada; revised edition, 2000). This does not address anything on Doherty’s […]
A Counterclockwise Paley
Gerkin takes the classic theistic Argument to Design from William Paley's Natural Theology, "the watchmaker analogy," argues that it is logically flawed as an argument for theism, then turns it on its head and reformulates it as an argument for atheism.
A New Argument against the “Feigned-Allegiance Reply”
One of the theistic maneuvers used to explain and justify the hiddenness of God is the so-called "Feigned-allegiance Reply" (FAR). Although some arguments against FAR have been published in the literature, Plugaru here presents what he believes is a new and valid attack on FAR (NAFAR).
Free Advertising Isn’t the Point
Related documents: “The Rest of the Story” (2002) by Jeffery Jay Lowder Lowder’s review of Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ. On July 13, 2000, I happened to be flipping through radio stations when I stumbled upon a talk radio show with a voice familiar to me. As luck would have it, it was Lee […]
The Kalam Cosmological Argument: The Question of the Metaphysical Possibility of an Infinite Set of Real Entities
According to a form of the kalam cosmological argument expounded by William Lane Craig, there cannot be a beginningless temporal world because the application of Cantorian set theory of transfinite arithmetic to the real world generates counterintuitive absurdities, thereby disclosing that an infinite set of real entities is metaphysically impossible. This article shows how this is not the case by pursuing a novel approach wherein it is understood that an infinite set of real entities is not a set, considered as a technical term of art, within the meaning of Cantorian theory. Upon accepting the original version for publication, Quentin Smith, then editor of Philo, wrote: "Your paper has been studied thoroughly for some time and there is agreement that it is at least an undercutting defeater of [William Lane] Craig's beliefs about real infinites, probably even an overriding defeater. More importantly, it introduces a novel metaphysical theory of the relation of transfinite arithmetic to concrete reality." Guminski's persuasive challenge to Craig's account of why Cantorian transfinite arithmetic should not be deemed to apply to the world of concrete entities has yet to be answered by Craig. The world wonders.
Science Creationism Behe
Michael Behe Behe, Biochemistry, and the Invisible Hand (2001) (Off Site) by Niall Shanks and Karl Joplin Published in Philo Vol. 4 No. 1, this essay takes creationist biochemist Michael Behe to task for failing to make an evidentially grounded case for the supernatural intelligent design of biochemical systems. In Shanks’ and Joplin’s earlier work […]
Objection #8: I Still Have Doubts, So I Can’t Be A Christian
(2001) (Interview w/ Lynn Anderson, D.MIN) Kyle J. Gerkin This is perhaps the weakest objection of all. Since Christians often seem so damn sure of themselves, I can see where an outsider might think that doubters need not apply. However, any rational person realizes that there is no such thing as absolute certainty, and simple, […]
Secular Web Feature Articles: 2001
From Which Religious Sect Did Jesus Emerge? by Sid Green We know from the first-century Jewish historian Josephus that three main sects dominated first-century Palestine: the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. Green asks the question “from which did Jesus emerge?” and takes us on a fascinating tour of the evidence. The Evil Atheist Conspiracy by James […]
A Christmas Conversation
Atheists don't celebrate Christmas, right? Not necessarily, as a
theist discovers when he engages in discourse with a nonbeliever, who
celebrates a secular winter solstice.
Mr. Bayes and the True Nature of Scientific Hypotheses
Professor Pigliucci describes why a Bayesian description of the scientific enterprise -- while not devoid of problems and critics -- is revealing itself to be a tantalizing tool for both scientists, in their everyday practice, and for philosophers, as a more realistic way of thinking about science as a process.
The Evolving Destruction of the Female
In my last column I wrote of the sex change from 25,000 years of female Goddesses to the male God of the sword, and of the fanatic zeal of Paul and the early Christian cult to destroy the female. The destruction of the female Goddesses were built into the dogmas and laws of the three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The Christ Myth and Solstice
I like knowing where our celebrations fit into the large picture of our human family. I like knowing that the quest for religious literacy is finally finding its way into our high school classrooms. I like knowing that the traditional Christmas stories are today being taught as mythology in my grandson's class in Northern California.
The Children of Winter
"If I have stopped only ONE heart from breaking, I shall not have lived in vain." wrote Emily Dickinson. In this Christmas and Solstice season and throughout the coming year may our hearts be open for that one other heart that we might keep from breaking ... and then this season will not have come ... and gone ... in vain.
A Zen Jesus for Christmas
In 1945 an Arab peasant in the upper Egyptian desert near Nag Hammadi made a spectacular discovery. Buried in earthenware were 52 papyrus texts, some dating from the beginning of the Christian era and presenting a Jesus who said things that could have come out of the mouth of a Zen Master, or even the Buddha himself.
FRODO, HARRY, AND GOD … In the Battle of Good & Evil
The recent movie release by Warner Brothers of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1) has led to a resurrection of harsh criticism from the Christian right. Perhaps due to the overlapping movie release of the first book in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, comparisons are being drawn between the two works of fiction and their respective authors.
The Torpid, Mindless Mass
I was asked to explore Carl Jung's question: "Why are so many millions willing and eager to turn their lives over to outside authorities?"
The Female Supreme Being … The Goddess
At first, in primal times, there was only the forces of nature and the unknown power behind it all. Gradually there evolved the concept of a Supreme Being, a female, a She, a Goddess who created the Universe and all of its laws. She was the ruler of Nature, Fate, Time, Eternity, Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Love, Birth and Death. .And so, for 25,000 years there was only the Goddess.
No Faith in PBS
Focus on the Family president James Dobson recently described the eight-hour
evolution series shown on PBS as "pure, unadulterated propaganda,"
and claimed it was "anti-Christian" in its intent.
Free of the Biblical God
Blessed are the Atheists, Agnostics, Deists, Mystics, Humanists, Free Thinkers, Taoist, Buddhist and all others who do not have an archaic, primitive God in their mind/brains.
"Biblical law" attorney withdraws name
"Biblical law" attorney withdraws his name from consideration for National Labor Relations Board.
Ashcroft and the Religious Right
AHA believes Ashcroft pushing his extreme personal religious agenda.
The Secular Web in the News…Sort of
We don't seem to win much notice in the press, but when we do, its good press. Carrier surveys the few instances he could find. Some are quite interesting!
The Koran Predicted the Speed of Light? Not Really.
Yet another bogus claim about the Koran (this time, it predicted the speed of light!). The claim is analysed and debunked.